Page 58 of Sultry Nights

Quinn turned and grinned at his friend. "What do you think of this?"

"I think it looks pretty fucking good. I can't wait till your party, Bud. What is that like two weeks away now?"

"Not even."

"Did you talk to Jami Hart?"

"I did. They're here and they're gonna play."

Jace clapped his hands together loudly. "Excellent. Excellent. It's gonna be fun. I've got the food ordered. I've got the booze ordered. I assume you're bringing a date."

"You know I am."

"Okay, good." Jace laughed. "Alright, I gotta get back in and get ready for the dinner crowd. What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna go pick up my girl and we are going to have dinner with Sid and Grace tonight."

"Yeah, I don't feel left out at all."

"You're welcome to join us, Bud. We're gonna be here, anyway. Hanna hasn't met Grace yet, and I wanted her to meet them since they're getting married soon, and I'm hoping Hanna will be in my life for a long time."

Jace grinned and slapped his buddy on the back. "Good for you, man. Good for you."

"So anyway, that's what I'm doing. I'll see you in a little while." He started toward his truck. "Actually, do we need to reserve a table?"

Jace laughed. "No, you can have this one right here, the one closest to the stage since no one seems to want it right now with the construction."

He chuckled. "Fine, we'll take it. It's a good view, anyway, don't you think?"

Jace looked up at the stage and grinned. "Man, it's great. I can't wait to start having concerts here. I'm gonna start calling bands and getting them set up."

"Excellent." Quinn's phone rang.

He didn't recognize the number, but he nodded to Jace. "Gotta take this, Bud. We'll see you later."

He started toward his truck as he answered his phone. "Quinn Kurtz."

"Quinn, it's Lance. Lance Valentine, Hanna's father. Hey, we can't find her. Is she with you?"

"No, I'm at the Sandbar finishing up a job here. What do you mean you can't find her? Isn't she at the bakery?"

"No, no. Allison was here helping Hanna. Hanna took the garbage out and she never came back. We're...Quinn, we're scared."

"I'll be right there." Quinn hung up the phone and ran the rest of the way to his truck, got in, and sped to the bakery. His stomach tightened as he drove. Once he got to the bakery, Lance was waiting near the front door for him. He ran inside and shook Lance's hand.

"What's happening? Tell me what's going on."

Lance scraped his hand through his hair. "Allison's in the kitchen talking to the police. Hanna took the garbage out, and Allison was waiting for her to come back in. She never came back. So Allison went out to check and she couldn't find her anywhere. Her car's here. She's not answering her phone. We don't know where she's at. She wouldn't just leave. She's responsible. She has a business to run. She would have been back here. Where would she go without her purse and her car? Where would she go?"

"Okay. All right." Quinn scraped his hand through his hair and swallowed to keep his stomach from emptying its contents. This couldn't be happening. Things were going so well. Maybe too good, if there was such a thing.

"Okay. Let's go to the kitchen and talk to Allison."

"Yes, of course. Of course." Lance turned toward the kitchen, but he didn't look like the vibrant man he'd met yesterday. He looked older today. Worry etched lines in his face and his back rolled forward as if he'd aged twenty years overnight.

He followed Lance to the kitchen and found Allison sitting on a stool near the table. Two local police officers, Erin Moody and Trey Fielding, were standing in the kitchen asking her questions.

He shook both of their hands. "Hi, Erin. Trey."

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